Event Concluded With Organizations, Hospitals and Med-Tech Innovators Sharing and Renewing Public Commitments to Patient Safety
IRVINE, CA / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) successfully concluded its 12th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit on Friday February 27th, 2026 at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, bringing together global leaders committed to eliminating preventable patient harm.
Centered on this year's theme, "The Power to Propel Change," the Summit united patients and families, frontline clinicians, hospital executives, policymakers, payers, academic experts, and healthcare innovators around a shared and urgent mission: achieving ZERO preventable patient harm.
Each year, more than 200,000 people in the United States and three million worldwide die from preventable causes in hospitals. It is a sobering reality that continues to drive the Foundation's work. Joe Kiani founded the Patient Safety Movement Foundation in 2012 to confront this crisis head-on. Since hosting its first Summit in 2013, PSMF has built a global movement focused on transparency, accountability, and the implementation of proven, actionable evidence-based solutions.
"Zero preventable harm is not an abstract goal. It is a responsibility," said Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. "We already know how to prevent many of the deaths that occur in hospitals every day. What has been missing is alignment and the will to implement what works. When we bring the right people together and commit to action, lives are saved."
Throughout the day, speakers emphasized achieving zero harm requires more than innovation. It demands a culture of safety, open access to accurate data, and consistent adoption of Actionable Evidence-Based Practices. Through initiatives such as Project Zero, PSMF continues to support healthcare organizations worldwide in implementing practical solutions that reduce harm and improve outcomes.
The 2026 Summit featured a distinguished lineup of leaders from across healthcare and public service, including Dr. Jill Biden, Former First Lady of the United States; Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MP, Former Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom; Margaret-Mary Wilson, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealth Group; Klaus Markstaller, MD, Medical Director and Chairman of the Executive Board, University Hospital of Augsburg; Monty Mythen, MBBS, MD, FRCA, FFICM, FCAI (Hon), Senior Vice President, BD Advanced Patient; Robin Betts, RN, CPHQ, MBA-HA, Vice President of Safety, Quality & Regulatory Services at Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan; Diana E. Ramos, MD, MPH, MBA, California Surgeon General; Michelle Block Schreiber, MD, Deputy Director of CMS; Christopher Longhurst, MD, MS, CEO of Seattle Children's Hospital; and senior representatives from Office of Inspector General and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among many others.
Dr. Biden discussed the important work that she and President Biden launched at the White House-the Women's Health Research Initiative and the Biden Cancer Moonshot. She continues her advocacy for women's health as the Chair of the Milken Institute Women's Health Network. In her remarks, Dr. Biden stated, "If we don't measure the differences between men and women, we miss them. And those differences can cause harm. We have a responsibility to close the divide between best practices and what happens in reality." Dr. Biden's remarks also highlighted the idea that the greatest advancement in patient safety is the patient voice.
Federal leaders highlighted the importance of aligning policy, quality measurement, and reimbursement structures to strengthen accountability and accelerate the adoption of safer care practices nationwide. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also shared additional details about the organization's new Transforming Episode Accountability Model, a mandatory episode-based payment structure aimed at improving the patient experience from surgery through recovery by strengthening care coordination and transitions between providers. It holds participating acute care hospitals accountable for the cost and quality of care over an episode that begins with a surgical procedure and extends for 30 days post hospitalization.
"To patient safety advocates, continue your advocacy, speak up, be engaged. Talk about this. Make it something that's important, because the more you speak up, the more others will listen. The more people who speak up, the more the government will listen. Speak up, speak out and be an advocate for issue safety," said Michelle Schreiber, Deputy Director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at CMS.
Panels explored how artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, maternal health innovation, and system redesign can support clinicians and reduce avoidable harm. Speakers shared case studies demonstrating measurable reductions in hospital-acquired infections, sepsis mortality, and procedural complications when evidence-based protocols are consistently applied.
Years ago, Christopher Longhurst, MD, saw a day when AI could be a tool to help clinicians predict patient deterioration before it's too late. To lay the foundation, medical technology companies today shared essential data pushing toward that goal. The panel also emphasized that the tools are here and mandatory protocols may also be on the horizon.
A strong undercurrent of collaboration defined the Summit. Participants repeatedly returned to the idea that meaningful progress will only happen when healthcare leaders, regulators, industry partners, and patients work together. The Foundation's holistic approach continues to bridge these groups, creating space for candid dialogue and collective problem solving.
Sir Jeremy Hunt, Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the United Kingdom's longest-serving Health Secretary reminded attendees that every day, 7,000 patients die across the world due to preventable harm. He challenged the status quo stating, "We talk about what we can do to improve patient safety at a macro level. In your daily work, when you do something that makes the care of individual patients sitting right in front safer. That might seem to you like it is a small act, but by acting to make their care safer, reduce their risk of death, reduce the risk of a tragedy, what you're actually doing is you're saying that that patient is as important to me as my own son, daughter, mother or father. And that is not a small act. That is a massive affirmation of our common humanity."
"Even very small risks, if left unaddressed, can have enormous consequences," concluded Margaret Wilson. Her words reflect the state of current health systems that Patient Safety Movement aims to ameliorate because when it comes to most preventable harm, "the system was at fault, not the individual."
Attendees left the Summit with practical tools, renewed urgency, and a clear message: preventing patient harm is not optional. It is a moral imperative.
As the Patient Safety Movement Foundation looks ahead, its mission remains unchanged. By promoting transparency, supporting implementation of proven practices, and convening global stakeholders, PSMF continues to push healthcare systems toward a future where preventable deaths are no longer accepted as inevitable.
The next Summit will be on February 26th, 2027.
About the Patient Safety Movement Foundation
The Patient Safety Movement Foundation is a global nonprofit organization with a bold mission: to eliminate preventable patient harm and death across the world. By convening leaders, advancing evidence-based solutions, securing actionable commitments and amplifying patient voices, the Foundation drives systemic change to make healthcare safer for all. For more information, visit http://psmf.org
Media contact:
mcuellar@interdependence.com
(949) 777-2468
SOURCE: Patient Safety Movement Foundation
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/12th-annual-world-patient-safety-summit-marks-resounding-success-in-g-1144116
